# The Worst Album By A Band U like **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [September 20, 2020, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058 "2020-09-20T03:58:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/101 "2021-05-11T15:41:56Z")
@BlankSlate I never even heard that album, because Reveal turned me off R.E.M. so much. One brilliant single and the rest all blended together into one song for me. For years I’d been running out to buy their new album the day of release. Reveal ended that. It kind of reminded me of Fables of the Reconstruction, my least favorite I.R.S.-era album, which had the same problem. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/102 "2021-05-11T15:45:50Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Now, don’t get me wrong. _Naked_ is a fine, middle of the road pop/rock album. The issue is Talking Heads made their career by **not** being an average pop/rock band. I’m not sure I’d call it “middle of the road pop/rock” but I agree that it’s missing the edge the band’s earlier work had. That’s what happens when musicians get older. Still really like it. > [@](#): > > Maybe it is just having been spoiled by the three great albums with Brian Eno, I don’t know. I would ask what your favourite song off of _Naked_ is? Probably “Cool Water” here, although “(Nothing But) Flowers” is pretty offbeat too by dint of 1) being extremely catchy and 2) advocating for _less_ “nature” and _more_ parking lots. Take that, Joni Mitchell! > [@Sparky812](#): > > The worst Roth-era album is definitely not Diver Down, other than the cheesy cover songs it has some gems and is still better than A Different Kind of Truth. Heh. Fun fact: I transcribed VH’s a cappella version of “Happy Trails” off Diver Down and got some of my friends to sing it at the end of our wedding as we left the church. I’m going to add Jackson Browne’s **Lawyers in Love** to the list - despite the success of the title track it was an album utterly devoid of any interesting songs at all. Mind you, that was the point I stopped listening to Browne so if you want to tell me that his subsequent albums were even worse I won’t quibble. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/103 "2021-05-11T15:48:17Z")
> [@veryfrank](#): > > It kind of reminded me of Fables of the Reconstruction, my least favorite I.R.S.-era album, which had the same problem. I loved _Fables_ and still do. For me, the first album that was slightly disappointing was _Document._ ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/104 "2021-05-11T16:16:03Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > > [@veryfrank](#): > > > > It kind of reminded me of Fables of the Reconstruction, my least favorite I.R.S.-era album, which had the same problem. > > I loved _Fables_ and still do. Me, too! It didn’t click with me instantly like _Reckoning_ or _Murmur_, but over time it surpassed them (in my mind, anyway) in depth and daring. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/105 "2021-05-11T16:28:45Z")
I am the definitive Tull fan, but some of their material is weak. Roots to Branches and Rock Island were disappointments, signs of a weary muse facing contractual obligations, but, oddly enough, their biggest selling album, A Passion Play, was a great big dud for me (and I do like long songs). Unlike many people, while A did catch me off-guard, it was able to reach me more than thos others. But may have been due to my acid days. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/106 "2021-05-11T16:33:38Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Black Sabbath (pre-'81, because I’m unfamiliar with anything they did afterwards): _Technical Ecstasy_ I fully agree with that. It’s funny because if you look around online the consensus seems to be that _Never Say Die_ is their worst, yet I think it is way better than _Technical Ecstasy_. Though both were produced when the band was blowing up ISTM that TE is an appalling minimal effort cheese factory (“Rock 'n Roll Doctor”, really? What on earth were they thinking?), while NSD, though very un-Sabbath-like, was also very different and interesting. I still listen to it from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/107 "2021-05-11T16:36:18Z")
> [@Skunkdog](#): > > I think the worst Rush album would have to be 1989’s “Presto”. It was soon after their renaissance of the 80’s and trying to find themselves in the post-grunge rock scene. They course corrected soon after with “Roll The Bones”. I really enjoyed _Presto_; for me it was _Test for Echoes_. That was hugely disappointing for me and basically finished off my love of Rush. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/108 "2021-05-11T16:51:19Z")
Not a shocker, but _Chinese Democracy_ is complete shit. Totally out of touch and terrible in every possible respect. I don’t even consider it GnR; when your last remaining original member is the least talented of them all, it’s time to quit. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/109 "2021-05-11T18:48:28Z")
Is it fair to cite a first album? Like, I love Hüsker Dü, but “Land Speed Record” is unlistenable, and they only (to my mind) became great with the next record and you could truly hear the melody within the noise. Staying in the Twin Cities, “Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash” is sporadically fun but can’t hold a candle to anything else the 'mats would release, even the super glossy final records. Both were awesome bands just finding their feet when they recorded those, so it’s not like they were badly faltering mid-career. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/110 "2021-05-11T19:19:52Z")
> [@veryfrank](#): > > Both were awesome bands just finding their feet when they recorded those … I was thinking about Radiohead in the same light. _Pablo Honey_ is an OK mid-90s arty-rock album, but it was utterly eclipsed by the group’s next few releases. (Agreed on Hüsker Dü and the Replacements, too.) ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/111 "2021-05-11T20:04:18Z")
I like End of the Century too. Spectors gun-wielding aside, he did a great job with the Ramones. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/112 "2021-05-11T20:28:17Z")
I love _The Cure_, but _Bloodflowers_ is dreck. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/113 "2021-05-11T22:10:40Z")
Has anyone brought up **Neil Young** yet? He is in my personal elite tier, overall, but he did poop the bed on a handful of albums: - Re-ac-tor - Arc - Trans mmm ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/114 "2021-05-11T22:42:16Z")
You forgot Everybodies Rockin with the Shocking Pinks. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/115 "2021-05-11T22:47:50Z")
And “Landing On Water”. That was the worst of the batch. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/116 "2021-05-11T22:59:33Z")
> [@veryfrank](#): > > I love Hüsker Dü For me it’s just basically _Land Speed Record_ and _Zen Arcade_, which are both smokin’ awesome. Could not stand _Flip Your Wig_ - watered-down pop. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/117 "2021-05-11T23:07:34Z")
The thing about guys like **Neil Young** and **Paul Simon** is they have such Enormous Nuts to release stuff from wildly different genres, that ain’t no way everybody gone like it all. I imagine right now, somewhere in the world is the Biggest Fan of _This Note’s For You_ who just got a first listen to _Harvest_ and is thinking 'What the Hell is this Crap???" ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/118 "2021-05-11T23:17:00Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > The thing about guys like **Neil Young** and **Paul Simon** is they have such Enormous Nuts to release stuff from wildly different genres, that ain’t no way everybody gone like it all. That’s true at least for Neil Young (Paul Simon’s output is significantly smaller than Neil’s, and I don’t know his work as well, so I can’t quite comment on him). Neil Young has, I’ve never counted, about 50 solo and collaborate (with Buffalo Springfield, CSN&Y and others) studio albums, and a bunch of important live albums, and IMHO about 20 of them are top notch, and many others are at least decent, so you can forgive him for four or five stinkers. Same for Zappa. Or for Dylan. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/119 "2021-05-11T23:24:14Z")
Well my thoughts back in the 80s was that Neil paid his dues and could out out what ever he wanted. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058/120 "2021-05-11T23:25:53Z")
Maybe. Heck, David Geffen sued him for putting out “noncommercial music” . 😁 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-album-by-a-band-u-like/921058.md?page=7)